Various ice maker designs have been proposed for refrigeration appliances such as commercial or home refrigerators and/or freezers. In certain automatic ice makers, water is provided from an external source to a chilled ice cube mold. Once the water freezes into ice, the ice cubes in the mold are harvested and the cycle is repeated. An ice bucket is located below the ice maker to hold the ice cubes until they are dispensed to a user. Typically, ice cubes are dispensed by a user operating an input device such as a button or paddle which triggers a mechanical feeding of ice downwards to the user's container such as a cup. An auger may help break up and move the ice cubes, a trapdoor may be provided to maintain temperatures and feed upon demand, all controlled either by user input, the device, or both. Ice crushers and chilled water dispensers may also be located nearby depending on the device. The ice may be stored in the fresh food compartment, the freezer compartment, or on the door of either, depending on further design choices.
With all of these various options and functions, refrigeration appliances such as refrigerators and freezers have become complex and specialized designs are often employed. Interior liners are typically molded (thermoformed) sheets, and providing attachment of various optional and/or complex items such as above to refrigeration appliance interiors can be difficult. Customized designs may have to be employed to fit the desired parts into each such appliance. Doing so with a molded liner, which is typically not entirely rigid, can prove challenging for designers.
Accordingly, an improved ice box housing assembly allowing versatility and simplicity in design and installation for various applications would be welcome.